[xsl] A Place for Off-Topic Discussions

["M. David Peterson" <m.david@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Folks,

[Dimitre Novatchev] >  I guess that by now Tommie's got uncomfortable 
about the relevance of this thread -- let's therefore move it off-list.

That's an interesting speaking point, as a few days ago I emailed Tommie 
and asked her how she felt in regards to an idea of creating an 
off-topic forum in which conversations like this could be moved when it 
seems they have gone a bit too far off the primary focus of XSL-List.  
Overall, she liked the idea, and as such I am now announcing the set-up 
of just such a forum.

You can find this @ http://forum.xsltransformations.com

Couple of speaking points:

* XSL-List is where *ALL* traffic needs to start.
* If at some point during the course of a conversation it seems like 
things have gone a bit off-topic and its time to move the discussions 
off-list, only then should this take place.  In other words, to exist 
there, it needs to start here.

The software I have chosen to use for this project is the UNB forums 
software, which allows the ability to add Jabber notifications when 
someone has responded to a thread you have set to receive notifications 
for.  To be honest, I have no idea how well it works.  Guess we'll find 
out soon enough.

I think that if we keep ourselves in check, this could turn into a nice 
enhancement to our community as a whole.  If, however, this becomes the 
XSL-Jerry Springer extension project, I reserve the right to take 
necessary actions (boot your account from the forum, boot the forum 
topic off the forum, shut the entire thing down all together, etc...) to 
ensure this doesn't continue forward in ANY capacity.  While I wan't 
this to become a successful extension to XSL-List, and and enhancement 
to the community as a whole, if it proves otherwise I will simply pull 
the plug.  I plan to take the advice of several key community members, 
especially Tommie, in monitoring how things move forward and what 
actions need to be taken to ensure this stays within the confines 
outline above.

One last thing: You will need to register with your email address before 
you can start using the forums.  There were some earlier problems with 
this, but *I THINK* I have them fixed.  If that is not the case, please 
send me a message off-line, and I will look into getting things fixed.

With that, enjoy!